


Down by the Water

by victoria_p (musesfool)



Series: Dog Days of Summer [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: dogdaysofsummer, M/M, Marauders' Era, NightSwimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-08-06
Updated: 2005-08-06
Packaged: 2018-03-20 05:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3639153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesfool/pseuds/victoria_p
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He is still pale, scarred, thin (scrawny, Sirius says), but in the moonlight it doesn't matter -- he is luminous as opals here, with no one else to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down by the Water

Remus slips from the bungalow quietly, careful for the creaks and sighs of the old wood floors and salt-rimed door hinges. He can hear Peter snuffling on the pull-out, but everything else is silent as he goes.

His feet are bare, and the stone walkway is cool against his soles, the day's heat leached away by night. He takes a deep breath, tasting the sea air, letting it fill him, grateful and still a little surprised his mum agreed with his vacation plans. He's of age now, so she couldn't have stopped him, but he's not like Sirius--he has no wish to set himself against his mother, who has given him everything she's capable of, and more, over the years.

The waning moon still casts enough light to see by, turning the fine white sand into a sea of silver, each grain a reflection of the endless stars above. It feels good beneath his toes, cooler now that the blaze of day has gone. He casts a quick spell to repel sand fleas and mosquitoes as he strips off his shorts, unselfconscious in a way he could never be during daylight. He is still pale, scarred, thin ( _scrawny_ , Sirius says), but in the moonlight it doesn't matter--he is luminous as opals here, with no one else to see.

Or almost no one.

A sleek figure rises from the water, like some ancient god or hero, skin lustrous as pearls in the moonlight, hair dark as the sky above, eyes shining like stars.

"I knew you'd come," Sirius says, beckoning with one white hand, and Remus moves through the water to join him. They kiss, the taste of salt and sand and sea on their lips and tongues, languid and desperate, familiar and new all at once. Their shadows ripple on the water, and Remus knows the light with which he shines is a pale reflection of Sirius's glow.

*


End file.
